Last year my gramps was left on his own after the sad passing of my grandmother and between the family we had an idea that we would get a pet which would help to cure the loneliness. I honestly had no idea what kind of pet would be best and so I spoke to the brilliant vet Dr Balpal Sandhu to see what kind of pet was best for him, given that he was 91 and not as active as he had once been. The vet gave me some great suggestions and we eventually settled on a pet which really put a smile on his face. If you are looking for a pet for similar reasons then these are the options which I think you should be considering.
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Bird
We decided to settle on a bird for my gramps and it turned out to be a really good move. Tropical birds such as parakeets or budgies, they are very easy to look after and they provide some much needed company in the house. These birds will tweet, some will speak, and they will happily fly around a room. The birds are cheap and easy to maintain and clearing out the cage is something which my grumpy did each day, which gave him something to do every morning.
Cats
Cats are a good choice in terms of buying for someone who isn’t overly mobile, as they really don’t take much looking after at all. Cats however are not the most loving and they don’t provide much excitement unless you give them a ball of yarn. With this being said they certainly have their cute moments and they very much look after themselves.
Dogs
The reason why we decided against buying a dog is that my gramps wasn’t in a position physically where he could take it out for the exercise that it would need. Even things like picking up the poop would have been challenging and whilst dogs provide enormous levels of entertainment and give a great amount of love, you have to ensure that you are giving a pet which is going to be well looked after and sadly my gramps just wasn’t in that position.
Fish
Tropical fish is certainly an option, they are low cost, they are also low maintenance and they can really brighten up a room. Naturally you don’t get much from a fish by way of love or entertainment but sometimes people don’t really care about that side of things. For some people this will make for the perfect pet as all they have to do is given the tank a clean and give the fish some food. If you have a grandparent which isn’t a big animal lover then this could be a great gift which will keep them slightly entertained and give them something to care for, without having to really do very much.
These are some of the best options for the elderly.
